A roleplaying game about being at the bottom of the food chain

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One night, after a couple of bourbons each, we got to chatting about our plans for Goblins. We had been inspired by the release of Heros Against Darkness by Justin Halliday. His excellent role playing game had been released using a Creative Commons licence and it had got us thinking. Here was a fully thought out role playing game thoroughly put together and out there for people to play for free.

The role playing industry is too small to support all the wonderful indie games out there financially in any meaningful way. It is barely big enough to support the full time developers for big companies. We decided we’d follow Justin’s lead and release Goblins! on this site for free. When we’re done, we’ll still do a self-published hard copy of the rules (mostly for ourselves) so that people can buy a copy if they’re interested.

So, without waffling on anymore, here’s the current version of Goblins! Feel free to download and play it. Please remember, this is still a far from finished version of the game. We still have a few things to fix up. The combat chapter, for instance, is a little thin on details. We appreciate any and all feedback. You can use the comments below to let us know what you think of the game, what you think works and what you think doesn’t. Those groups who provide us significant and useful feedback will be given credits in the rule book.

We are finally at a stage where we feel that we can start asking for volunteers to play test Goblins!. We are going to limit it to only a few groups at first, get their feedback and then expand the number of groups after that. What we will provide in the first round is the Character Generation chapter, the Combat chapter, the Doin’ Stuff chapter, and a couple of scenarios. The rest of the book is still being edited, illustrated and laid out. When we expand the play testing group, we’ll add extra content.

What do I need to do?

The very very very first thing is to read our explanation of what the game is. Goblins! is not a game that is going to suit everyone. We know this, we don’t apologise for it, and if it doesn’t suit you and your group, don’t torture yourself with it.

After passing the first test, the next step is to join this site and fill out a profile. Then hop onto the Forums and tell us that you want to be involved.

Once we have selected you (and your gaming group) you will be required to sign a non-disclosure agreement – standard stuff and, sadly, quite necessary.

We are anticipating the first initial stages will take a week or two and then we will start emailing out packages of rules, etc.

Things you can do to improve your chances of being selected

The more we see you around, the more likely we are to pick your gaming group. Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter (see the sidebar), say hi on the forums, etc, are all things that will make it more likely you’ll get noticed. Letting us know a bit about you and your gaming experience will also help.

At the bare minimum, you need to join this site and fill out a profile.

In Goblins! A Roleplaying Game you and your friends play a group of Goblins. Mucky little bastards. Weak, mean-spirited, ugly little cannibals. They have brutal, short little lives, living at the bottom of the goblinoid pecking order. When food is short, they often serve as backup snacks for their larger orc cousins. A Goblin’s survival relies on wits, sycophancy, brutality and a healthy dose of luck. Sounds like fun? We think so.

The game structure for Goblins! is fairly loose. You will find the best games are centred around the mediocre little lives that the goblins live. For example, simply helping the Ol’ Hag make a stew for dinner is likely to be fraught with danger and excitement. You will have to compete with your fellow goblins for the favour of the Ol’ Hag so you might get something to eat all the while not falling for any of their traps so you can avoid going into the stew yourself. Continue reading →